Doha: Al Sadd face a tough test in round 12 of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) today as they welcome El Jaish to the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
The ‘Wolves’ are currently leading the league with 29 points and have a three-point advantage over second-placed Lekhwiya. They showed last week why they are a top outfit after coming back from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 and secure all three points against Al Gharafa.
“We all know that this is one of the biggest games of the season, we will have 12 internationals on the field on Friday. Six international players for us and six international players for them,” said El Jaish’s Assistant Head Coach Asaad Chebbi.
“Al Sadd is a top club and they deserve to be at the top as they are still undefeated. The El Jaish players don’t need any motivation for this one; this game will have to be managed more in regard to the tactics employed by both coaches,” he said.
“We know that if we lose then there will be a gap between us and them of over 10 points. If this happens then we know that to win the QSL shield will be very difficult this season, not impossible but very difficult,” Chebbi said.
Al Sadd won’t be short of motivation either as they would like to stay at the top of the table.
“We have a big mission this week, as always between these two teams there will be a physical element to the game. And I’m sure it will be very tactical. Sadly, we have a lot of injuries in the squad and a few key players certainly won’t be fit in time,” Al Sadd Head Coach Hussein Ammouta said.
“However we do have some good players on the bench and this will be a big game for them and I must manage them well and make sure they can hit the ground running, so to speak,” he said.
In another match, Qatar Sports Club will play Umm Salal at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium today.
“We are at the end of the first half of the league and it has been very good so far for us. Our opponent in round 12 has played well in their last three games; Umm Salal has a lot of quality,” Qatar SC manager Radhi Shenaishil said.
“But our team has scored a lot of goals and so they will have to worry about this too. Our target is to stay in the top 4 and after these four games during this short period we will know if we have achieved this,” he added.
Umm Salal coach Bulent Uygun said: “In our previous game we had to face a tough test, Sailiya made us really struggle but we won. That win has helped our motivation and at the same time we have moved up the table.”
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